I am extremely new to cake making and am just now starting to get people calling and asking for cakes. I am not really sure how big I should make the cake when they tell me how many people will be eating it. And that also affects the pricing. So, could someone tell me how big and what price they would charge for the following:

Buttercream decorations Fondant Decorations
1-10 people
10-20 people
20-30 people
30-40 people
40-50 people
50-100 people

Thank you so much. I am so lost when it comes to how many people and cost.

here is he industry standard for servings (remember these are servings for 4" tall cakes, if you're doing 2" tall cakes then cut the number in half)
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

Pricing varies so much across the US, and even city to city or within a city (if you're in a really big one) Check out this thread on how to price your product
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-694973-.html

i do this as a hobby - don't sell anything. But, I can direct you to a couple of charts to get you started. You will find differences in the charts, but the "average" cake serving is a slice 4" tall by 2" wide by 1" thick. Earlene's chart has slightly fewer servings than Wilton's, but this will give you an idea

http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm

http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

and Wilton's "party" serving guide:
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-party-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

Indydebi has the best method of slicing and serving

http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-cut-wedding-cake.html

As far as pricing, you need to research prices in your area from your immediate competition, and I don't mean Wal-Mart - I mean custom providers. Your area may support higher or lower prices than cakers on this board that live in different areas. A good spread sheet to keep track of your actual costs will be most helpful.

Thank you both so much for the extremely helpeful information. I just got a call to see if I could make a sheetcake for 200 people! I have never made a cake for that many people before. Ahhhh! This will bemy first paying gig. I'm so nervous.

I was thinking 3- 10" rounds and 1- 12x18in sheet. Each one will have a different Security Forces or Air Force symbol/badge. What do you think?